Art Basel and The Miami Stree Photography Festival are wrapping up as the weather takes a turn for the worse, unfortunately, none of my friends that were finalist won awards last night, but some of us did get out and shoot even though the weather was quite cold and rainy (it snowed in parts of FL last night). I decided to join Depot MSA and Mig for a brief walk around town, which lead to the image above. I was going to do a comparison shot with the Sony a7RIII, but I can only carry so much glass on me at one time and the Sony really doesn’t have a lens that compares to the Fujinon GF 23mm f/4, which is by far my favorite lens for the system.
Shooting the Fujifilm GFX 50S and Sony a7RIII side by side is very interesting and it makes me look forward to the system’s growth, because I pretty much grab the a7RIII from my bag when Fujifilm doesn’t have an equivalent lens. So far I am not hating the Sony a7RIII like some of my past Sony bodies, but it is a buggy camera compared to my polished Fujifilm cameras and when I put a big lens on the a7RIII my hand feels very cramped. It’s funny how easily people identified and dismissed the Sony, while photographers would ask about the GFX and want to try the camera. I would then offer to let them see the a7RIII and they showed no interest at all. Fujifilm needs a better presence in stores so photographers can get their hands on cameras like the GFX, because every photographer that tried my GFX said they would like to own one sooner rather than later, but previously had no plans to purchase.
The problem is there are a lot of preconceived notions about medium format and where it belongs. Photographers want to box it in and think about other things rather than explore the possibilities most of the time. Simply showing someone a photography isn’t enough, but handing them a camera with a fast focusing lens makes them quickly rethink where the system belongs in their life. The Fujifilm GFX can do just about anything if you are driven enough to find a way to use the camera, but it’s not like medium format used to be and it will only get better. Until then we have cameras like the Fujifilm X-T2, which just work and upcoming X-H1 and X-T3 to look forward too.
Fujifilm #X100F vs #100S vs #LeicaCL Silent #CameraPorn
A post shared by Louis Ferreira (@louiswferreira) on
Some of my friends have begun to open their eyes to the amazing cameras Fujifilm is producing so now when we get together there is, even more, Fujifilm gear to compare and above you can see how the Fujifilm X100S, X100F, and Leica CL compare size wise. I have to admit the Leica CL is more compact and has the Leica feel and look, but the interchangeable lens feels cheap when you take it off the body. It’s a fun compact camera and the EVF is fairly big and clear, but it’s a little laggy. The camera also focuses pretty well when there is light, but when lighting conditions are poor it is very slow to focus, but accurate.
Leica is doing some really interesting stuff design-wise with the CL, but I would take an X100F over the CL any day of the week. There simply is no comparison between the two systems and before you say wait the X100F isn’t interchangeable, the Fujifilm X-E3 is and it’s actually a little smaller in addition to being a better camera and having a huge lens selection. The only great thing you can really say about the CL beyond them getting the design right is that Leica finally made an APS-C camera that a photographer might want to own if they are into luxury goods, because the TL was uninspiring.
Join our Fujifilm GFX Owners Group, also follow the Fujifilm GFX Page to get more tailored news on Facebook and follow Fujiaddict on Facebook and Twitter.
Fujifilm GFX 50S: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Fujifilm X100F: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Fujifilm X-E3: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Leica CL: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Sony a7RIII: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama